Iris Cantor (née Bazel, born February 14, 1931) is an American philanthropist based in New York City and Los Angeles, with a primary interest in medicine and the arts. Cited as among the 50 top contributors in the United States,[1] as head of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation,[2] her foundation has donated several hundred million dollars to museums, universities and hospitals since 1978.
Born Iris Bazel on February 14, 1931, as the first daughter of Fay and Al Bazel, she grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York City. Her mother was originally from Pennsylvania and her father was a Jewish Russian immigrant. Her younger sister Enid was born three years later.[3]
Drawn to Manhattan, she worked as a fashion model and stockbroker before eventually being hired by bond brokerage Cantor Fitzgerald around 1967, as an executive secretary.[4] In 1977, she married the firm's founder and majority owner, Bernard Gerald Cantor. It was her third marriage, and lasted nearly 20 years until his death in 1996.[5] By this time, "Bernie" Cantor had amassed a fortune said to exceed $500 million, receiving $50 million in annual dividends as of 1995.[4]
Subsequent to his business success, Mr. Cantor became a well-regarded art collector, and most notably had acquired over 750 sculptures and drawings by Auguste Rodin, and many American and European masters' paintings.[5]
In 1978, the year after their union, the Cantors founded the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation as a vehicle for their philanthropy.[5] In 1996, after acrimonious litigation with her husband's successor,[6] Mrs. Cantor sold her inherited 55% stake to the 170 limited partners of Cantor Fitzgerald, and the company agreed to additionally fund the foundation.[7]
Since 1995, she has been a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum and the Brooklyn Museum, as well as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and North Carolina Museum of Art among others.[13]
She has made additional donations to medical facilities and foundations:
UCLA Health System - Cantor established the Iris-Cantor - UCLA Women's Health Center in 1995. She has been involved with the UCLA Foundation since 1989, and has served as a Foundation Governor since 2005.[14]
NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell - donated the funds for eleven birthing rooms, two operating rooms, and a waiting rooms in 1996.[14] She donated $5 million in 2002 to form the Iris Cantor Women's Health Center, and $20 million in 2010, to launch the Iris Cantor Men's Health Center,[15] the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Ambulatory Surgery Center, and the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Laboratory for Immunological Research in Diabetes.
Cantor has received numerous awards and honorary degrees, including a National Medal of Arts awarded by President Clinton in 1995,.[19] For her work promoting appreciation for the French sculptor Auguste Rodin, she was made a Knight in France's Legion of Honour in 2000,[20] which was upgraded to an Officer on 20 March 2017.[21]
Legion of Honour – Officer (2017)
